By Drew Johnson
EMS1 Editor
Few Americans are more connected to the 9/11 attacks than the paramedics, firefighters, and police who rushed into the destruction at New York’s World Trade Center to save the lives of more than 30,000 people.
Former New York paramedic Rick Drury, who was among the responders, told ABC Action News he found some measure of closure in the news of bin Laden’s death.
“I’m so happy that it’s done with, that it’s over with,” he said. “I just hope that it brings closure to the people who deserve it, back in New York and the people who were affected.”
Mark Greczkowski, American Ambulance’s director of operations, spent 30 hours at ground zero in the aftermath of the attacks. He told the Norwich Bulletin that hearing the news of bin Laden’s death was overwhelming, but cautioned that now is a time for reflection, not celebration.
“Now that they got him, you have to wonder what’s next, as well,” he said.
Ground zero medic Greg Santa Maria also viewed the news of bin Laden’s death as a time for solemn reflection. “It doesn’t bring anyone back, and it doesn’t make the hurt go away, but it certainly brings some closure in some regard,” he told KDLT News in Sioux Falls.
For Paramedic Miguel Acevedo, who was taking a course at the New York City Fire Department when he was called to ground zero, the news of bin Laden’s death brought little relief.
“There was no real closure,” he said in an interview with the Orlando Sun-Sentinel. “To me, his death is not enough. There are other bad guys out there who need to be dealt with.”
As American Ambulance CEO Michael Aliano put it in an interview with the Norwich Bulletin, “Sept. 11 is one of the most impactful events of my life. It’s coming up on 10 years and I feel it. The person responsible is no more.”